It turned out Higashino Shuuichi's judgment had been correct.
Aizen came to "save the day"—and sure, he "saved" it.
The more arrogant his lines were when he first showed up, the more miserable he looked when he fled while yelling for reinforcements.
If we're judging acting alone, even Higashino Shuuichi had to admit defeat in front of Aizen like that.
But you couldn't really blame Aizen for it.
The main issue was Saitō Furōfushi's Zanpakuto, Konka Jashōjō—after that monk avatar solidified, the slash it swung out was far beyond imagination.
It nearly split half the entire island nation clean open.
If Aizen could actually block that strike, then the "useless captain" persona he'd painstakingly maintained for years would've been completely ruined.
Still, thanks to Aizen's interference, Higashino Shuuichi finally had the chance to pull Nemu out of the battlefield.
After all, this had only been a casual, "just-for-show" fight in the first place.
The moment he took Saitō Furōfushi seriously, Higashino Shuuichi had already lost.
"Thank you for saving me."
Back inside Urahara Shōten, Nemu stood in the room and bowed to Higashino Shuuichi.
For some reason, she found this Quincy named Kabuno Takuya strangely comforting.
Maybe because he had saved her?
But as for the other man in the room—Nemu couldn't keep her expression steady at all.
Because that man's name was Urahara Kisuke, Soul Society's traitor, the very top name on the wanted list.
"I know what you're thinking, but Nemu-san… in the end, we did save you, didn't we?" Urahara Kisuke said with a smile.
"I don't need you to save me.
And even if you did save me, it doesn't erase the sins committed by a traitor as heinous as you."
Nemu answered coldly.
She knew she wasn't a match for Urahara Kisuke.
And her values wouldn't allow her to strike her saviors directly.
Hearing her response, Higashino Shuuichi could only shake his head to himself again and again.
Not because Nemu's words were wrong—but because she was painfully inexperienced.
Any Shinigami with even a little life experience, after nearly getting killed by Saitō Furōfushi one moment and then being brought straight in front of Urahara Kisuke the next, would immediately realize:
Isn't this obviously Urahara Kisuke's design?
After all, who in Soul Society didn't know by now that those Reigai (Spirit Shells) carrying the souls of the original Captains were connected to Urahara Kisuke?
Yet because Higashino Shuuichi had been inserted in the middle, Nemu directly ignored that massive loophole.
At this point, all Higashino Shuuichi could do was silently give Urahara Kisuke a mental "nice."
The way he handled Nemu was absurdly skillful.
And the more Higashino Shuuichi thought about it, the more it made sense—throughout all of Soul Society, only someone like Nemu, a "manufactured human" who spent most of her time locked inside the Twelfth Division by Kurotsuchi Mayuri, would fall for such a crude trap.
"Sins? What exactly do you mean?" Urahara Kisuke asked with a smile. "That I caused major harm to Soul Society?
Or that I killed many Shinigami?"
"Whichever it is—compared to your genetic father, Higashino Shuuichi, what I've done is insignificant."
Urahara Kisuke's smile didn't change.
"So tell me, Nemu-san… what do you think of Higashino Shuuichi?"
Urahara Kisuke looked confident, as if everything was already in the palm of his hand.
Nemu's expression grew complicated.
And inside, Higashino Shuuichi's mind surged like a storm.
Urahara Kisuke knew the relationship between Nemu and him?!
That was something Higashino Shuuichi had never considered.
The information he'd had before was only that Urahara Kisuke wanted to use Nemu as part of a scheme.
Earlier, Higashino Shuuichi had thought Urahara Kisuke wanted to use Nemu to "prove" that he wasn't like ordinary Shinigami.
But now, it didn't look like that at all.
Urahara Kisuke was aiming for something bigger.
Higashino Shuuichi even suspected that—whether or not Higashino Shuuichi had appeared—Urahara Kisuke's plan had already been designed from the beginning.
Maybe Higashino Shuuichi had simply been a bonus.
Because the moment Urahara Kisuke knew Nemu's relationship to him, Higashino Shuuichi alone could already think of countless ways to use Nemu to spark conflict between his faction and the rest of Soul Society.
And if Higashino Shuuichi could think of that many…
Urahara Kisuke could think of even more.
For example—
A few days later, Nemu left calmly.
Urahara Kisuke didn't appear to stop her at all, wearing an expression of complete trust.
But in reality, Higashino Shuuichi had already seen it—
The Hōgyoku inside Nemu's body, fused so thoroughly it was almost one with her.
Damn it.
Nemu had become Kuchiki Rukia's substitute.
In Higashino Shuuichi's mind, the future plot had already started playing out.
Even so, Higashino Shuuichi didn't step in to stop Nemu from leaving—he even let it happen, watching as Urahara Kisuke helped her return to Soul Society.
Because Urahara Kisuke's move revealed several key pieces of information to him.
First: Urahara Kisuke definitely had not seen through Higashino Shuuichi's true identity—otherwise he would never have tested things in this way.
After all, Urahara Kisuke had always suspected some connection between Higashino Shuuichi and Aizen. Only if he believed Higashino Shuuichi wasn't "there" could he seize this chance to drive a wedge between Higashino Shuuichi's faction and Aizen.
Second: having the Hōgyoku implanted might not be a bad thing for Nemu.
The Hōgyoku's power was overflowing even for Aizen; using certain special methods to let Nemu retain a tiny portion of that power wasn't impossible.
Third—and most important: Urahara Kisuke's relationship with the Soul King was not as close as Higashino Shuuichi had assumed.
At the very least, Urahara Kisuke wasn't acting purely according to the Soul King's will—otherwise, Urahara Kisuke would never choose this moment to push Aizen toward betrayal ahead of schedule.
That was supposed to be Higashino Shuuichi's task in the Human World.
With that in mind, Higashino Shuuichi felt that Nemu taking Kuchiki Rukia's place as the "Hōgyoku vessel" might not be a bad thing at all—if anything, it might be a good thing.
But at the same time, Higashino Shuuichi grew even more curious about Urahara Kisuke's true stance.
Up to now, everything Urahara Kisuke did left Higashino Shuuichi with a hazy feeling—like flowers that weren't flowers, fog that wasn't fog.
Perhaps, unless Urahara Kisuke was willing to say it himself…
Only the person who had once been closest to him—Shihōin Yoruichi—could give Higashino Shuuichi some clarity.
But where was he supposed to find Shihōin Yoruichi now, when she had all but gone their separate ways from Urahara Kisuke?
In the Human World, Higashino Shuuichi resumed the search for Shihōin Yoruichi.
Meanwhile, in Soul Society, a piece of gossip quietly spread throughout Seireitei.
"Did you hear? The Twelfth Division's Third Seat—Nemu—was created by the Twelfth Division Captain using Higashino Shuuichi's genes!"
"Then doesn't that mean Higashino Shuuichi's blood runs in her veins?"
"Who's Higashino Shuuichi?"
"No way. You don't know who Higashino Shuuichi is?
Then we need to find a quiet corner and have a long talk.
As for this Higashino Shuuichi…"
Even though "Higashino Shuuichi" had long since become a taboo name across Soul Society…
There were still many Shinigami who remembered it clearly.
Every young Shinigami who asked about Nemu's origins was "lucky" enough to hear from older Shinigami:
Decades ago, there had been a Shinigami strong enough to oppose the entire Gotei 13 by himself.
"This rumor's got some exaggeration to it. Back then, only a few Captains actually tried to stop Lord Higashino-sama—plenty of Captains didn't even make a move."
In Ugendō, where everyone had once again gathered at the Kabuma clan, Kisaragi Shūsuke frowned at the circle around him as he spoke.
"So what? The end result is still that none of the Gotei 13 Captains could stop Lord Higashino-sama from wiping out those nobles of the Tsunayashiro clan.
That version just sounds better!" Yushima Ōko said cheerfully, arms folded across his chest, standing beside Kisaragi Shūsuke.
"That's not the same. Lord Higashino-sama will return sooner or later. If everyone believes a rumor like that, it won't be good for him later when he tries to… anyway, it won't benefit him."
Kisaragi Shūsuke had almost said "rally people's hearts," but considering that two people he regarded as complete outsiders—Muguruma Kensei and Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō—were present, he swallowed the rest.
As the most steadfast revivalist among Higashino Shuuichi's faction, Kisaragi Shūsuke desperately hoped that when Higashino Shuuichi returned in the future, he would revive the Kabuma clan together with Kabuma Sayako-sama.
Or even just found a brand-new Great Noble Clan—either was fine.
But unfortunately, no one else shared that kind of ambition.
Whether it was Sayako-sama herself, or Yushima Ōko, or Matsumoto Rangiku… none of them cared about that sort of thing.
Instead, the current head of the Shiba clan—Shiba KūKaku—whom Kisaragi Shūsuke considered an outsider, was strangely supportive of the idea.
"What's there to worry about? When Lord Higashino-sama comes back from above, who cares what anyone thinks?
If Captain-Commander Yamamoto has any sense, he should step down and yield the seat!"
Yushima Ōko answered with naked disdain.
He was that type—if someone praised Higashino Shuuichi, he was happy, as if they were praising him.
"Wait, wait!
Aren't you focusing on the wrong thing?
Wasn't today's meeting supposed to be about the Twelfth Division girl named Nemu?"
Sitting beside Kabuma Sayako, Matsumoto Rangiku finally couldn't hold it in anymore.
"What's there to discuss?
She was made from Lord Higashino-sama's genes. After the rumor spread, she admitted it herself—she said she's Lord Higashino-sama's daughter.
And Ōko already went to test her. That Nemu really can use part of Lord Higashino-sama's Zanpakuto Shikai abilities.
It's genuine.
We can't refuse to acknowledge it even if we want to."
Yushima Ōko glanced at Matsumoto Rangiku like she was an idiot.
Honestly, after all these years, by all rights Matsumoto Rangiku should've sharpened up a lot as the Tenth Division vice-captain.
But her brain still wasn't exactly reliable.
Yushima Ōko even wondered if she'd drunk herself into this state.
"In truth, whether or not Nemu can be considered Shuuichi's daughter isn't that important.
At least, not to us.
Because the rumor's purpose only requires that most Shinigami in Soul Society believe the logic.
As for whether it involves moral coercion, or false advertising…
Does it matter?
It doesn't.
We have no second path besides bringing Nemu back.
Unless one of you wants to shoulder the disgrace of betraying your teacher and your ancestors.
Or unless you're willing to gamble… on Shuuichi's attitude."
Kabuma Sayako had endured over a hundred years of tempering. By now, she could be considered a fairly qualified clan head.
So she naturally saw farther and deeper than Kisaragi Shūsuke and the others.
After hearing her, Kisaragi Shūsuke and Yushima Ōko exchanged a look at once.
They both saw hesitation in the other's eyes.
Right—what if Lord Higashino-sama really did want to accept a girl like this as his daughter?
"Then… should I go bring her back right now?" Kisaragi Shūsuke asked Kabuma Sayako cautiously.
After all, everyone knew there was a murky, unspoken relationship between Kabuma Sayako and his teacher, Higashino Shuuichi.
If Sayako-sama was jealous, Kisaragi Shūsuke could completely understand it.
But before Kabuma Sayako could praise Kisaragi Shūsuke in front of everyone—
Muguruma Kensei delivered the bad news first.
"If you'd had that idea and acted on it half a day earlier, Shūsuke, maybe you could've even salvaged a memory worth keeping.
But now… it's probably too late."
"What do you mean?" Kisaragi Shūsuke asked, turning toward Muguruma Kensei.
"Because Nemu was taken to Central 46."
On Muguruma Kensei's face, what showed most wasn't surprise—it was regret, and anger.
He couldn't understand how Central 46 had become like this.
Back then, after Higashino Shuuichi's purge, Central 46 had once turned into an institution that was far friendlier to Shinigami.
Many ambiguous rules—rules that could be flexed and negotiated—had been born in that period.
But as time passed…
Muguruma Kensei realized Central 46 had changed again—becoming exactly like it had been when it framed him and those former comrades who were Hollowfied, back then.
And this time, the "reason" they gave was that Nemu, as a Shinigami, not only left Soul Society without authorization, but also stood by and let a powerful Quincy escape!
No cause. No consequence. Just sweeping generalizations and condemnation.
Kisaragi Shūsuke suspected they wanted to "kill the chicken to scare the monkeys."
But they never considered what kind of fury such shameless logic would ignite.
At the very least—
Yushima Ōko and Matsumoto Rangiku were furious.
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